NAVY NEWS, OCTOBER 2010


11


Curtain falls on 30 years of 42 refi ts


AFTER more than 30 years of refurbishment at yards across the land, refi ts and revamps for Type 42 destroyers are no more. HMS Edinburgh is the very last of a line of warships which began with HMS Sheffi eld in the 1970s to be refi tted. The Fortress of the Seas has just emerged from a £17.5m overhaul in the hands of BAE Systems (now there’s just one change from the first 42 refits carried out in Britain’s dockyards...) which will see the veteran warship through to the end of her 25-year-plus career. The refit included the fitting of two refurbished engines


at


(one Tyne, one Olympus), with two new power turbines in the Olympus engines, whilst the hull has been covered with ‘go faster’ paint – it makes it harder for marine life to stick to the ship, hence she can go faster.


r upper deck and (right) CO ge through the Patagonian


hearts oronel


behind a wife and four children. His seafaring legacy lives on,


however. His great great grandson, AB Jonathan Howie,


Portland. The rating joined shipmates on the frigate’s fl ight deck for a service of remembrance before the sailor cast a wreath into the Pacifi c.


between us, I am proud to carry on my great great grandfather’s legacy,” said the young AB. “It


some 96 years later my ship is in these waters and we were able, in some small way, to remember their great sacrifi ce.”


And talking of sacrifice... 150


years ago much of the Chilean capital Santiago was razed by fire, which killed over 2,500 people. Amid the ruins were three church bells, bought as scrap and then shipped to Swansea where, until very recently, they were housed in All Saints Church in Oystermouth, Wales their purchaser had a


where


family pew. Last year the Chilean Ambassador to the UK opened negotiations with the church for the bells’ return. After the earthquake which struck Chile in February,


the


parish church council decided to donate the bells as a gift for Chile’s 200th birthday celebrations. That was the easy part. Getting the bells from Swansea Bay to the Chilean capital, well you can’t just ring up Parcelforce... The largest bell weighs 400kg (880lb) and is over one metre (3ft 3in) tall. So enter the RN and RFA.


First tanker Black Rover carried the bells from Plymouth to the Falklands. Portland carried the heavy objects the final 2,000 miles of their 10,000-mile odyssey into the port at Valparaiso. As the bells were being hauled


off the frigate, an army of engineers was fi ling aboard Portland.


is sheer coincidence that “Despite the generations serves aboard


driving rain, snow and at times storm-force winds,


After four months of relentless Britain’s


second youngest Type 23 needed a spot of maintenance. Work on Portland had,


of


course, been carried out during her


time at East Cove Falklands. But much of the maintenance


work required warmer weather (17˚C rather than 7˚C) and less precipitation (.8in rather than 1½in) than the Falklands could offer.


From the most junior to the most senior rating on board, plus local ship maintainers and employees of Babcock Marine – who carry out such work on Royal Navy vessels in the UK – an ‘army’ swarmed over the frigate in a busy fi ve days. They worked non-stop, late into the night, sanding,


erecting scaffolding, chipping,


scraping... and yet more painting. Ship’s company got stuck in


working on the foc’s’le, boat deck, quarterdeck and the ship’s side, stripping down old paint and rust that had accumulated whilst the local maintainers got to work on some of the harder-to-reach areas with cranes and buckets, boats and pontoons. By the fi fth day, after a lot of extremely long hours through early morning fog, strong midday sunshine and warm breezy afternoons, the fi nal licks of paint added an extra shine to the frigate... ... just in time for Exercise Terra Australis and Chile’s Bicentennial Fleet Review, which saw Portland lead three Type 23s, now under the Chilean fl ag. “The Royal Navy and the Chilean Navy have a history of close cooperation that dates back to the foundation of Chile in 1810,” said Cdr Knott. “We are proud to be involved in such an historic event and also to be able to celebrate the Chile 200 anniversary in such fi ne and friendly company.”


mote Falkland settlements of Port Louis and San Carlos painting, in the


● Magnifi cent desolation... Portland passes through the snow-covered peaks of Patagonia Pictures: LA(Phot) Simmo Simpson, FRPU East


officially a transom flap – will help to cut fuel consumption by up to 15 per cent. Other improvements carried out include an enhanced computer system and revamps for living spaces, fresh water systems, the galley and the laundry facilities. Edinburgh passed her ‘ready for sea’ inspection which meant she was able to depart for sea trials last month. That’s followed later this month by the destroyer being formally handed back to the RN, after which there’s a rededication in Portsmouth next month, some Operational Sea Training with those nice folk at FOST in the new year and, come May 2011, a six-month overseas deployment. “The close partnership between the ship’s company and BAE contractors saw the refi t programme surge ahead over the fi nal few weeks,” said CO Cdr Paul Russell. “We now have to put Edinburgh through her paces at sea and


turn a safe and fully-equipped vessel into a war-fi ghting unit once again.”


771 rescue colleague


CULDROSE-based Search and Rescue fl iers were called to help one of their own following a freak sporting accident. Lt Simon Cantrell, who works in the control tower at the Cornish air station, was paragliding over St Agnes Head with 771 NAS trainee pilot Lt Alistair Andrews when a sudden change in wind conditions caused his paraglider wing to collapse 50ft above ground. Although he


control, the junior officer fell to earth and landed heavily on a rock. Ambulance paramedics were able to get to the injured aviator after being alerted by Lt Andrews – a coach of the RN paragliding team. “We’d been flying together in what seemed like good conditions,”


tried to regain


said Lt Andrews. “The collapse that the glider suffered could not


foreseen. I hope that this accident doesn’t put Simon off flying again soon.”


have been


The ambulance crew deemed an airlift was the best and quickest course of action for Lt Cantrell, who’d suffered a broken leg in the fall and was understandably in some pain.


So enter a 771 Sea King which quickly made the 15-mile hop from Helston to the north Cornish coast and carried the injured sportsman to the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro. “When you are lying on a cliff


top, broken and in pain, the words ‘a helicopter is on its way’ are the best in the world!” said a grateful Lt Cantrell from his hospital bed.


CHRISTMAS CARDAPPEAL


EveryyeartheShipwreckedMariners’ Societypaysover £1mingrantstothedependantsofthoselostatsea,aswell assick,disabledandretiredseafarersstrugglingtomake endsmeet.Pleasehelpustocontinuethisimportantwork.


• Quality Christmas Cards • Correspondence Cards • Heroism at Sea E-Book • Nautical Heritage Calendar • Birthday Cards • Gift Items


And talking of going fast, a spoiler on Edinburgh’s stern –


Toreceiveacopyofournew2010brochure andorderformpleasecontact:


ShipwreckedMariners’ Society,DeptNN,1NorthPallant, ChichesterPO191TL.Tel:01243789329Fax:01243530853 e-mail:general@shipwreckedmariners.org.uk website:www.shipwreckedmariners.org.uk


● Star jumping is taken to the next level... Portland and her Lynx practise winching drills on the foc’s’le


Shipwrecked Mariners’ Society


Supportingtheseafaringcommunity forover170years


RegCharityNo212034 Inst.1839


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48